QBengaluru: City on Alert for Tipu Jayanti; Cab Fares May Go Up

1. Tipu Jayanti Today, Cops on Strict Vigil

Elaborate security arrangements are in place across the state for Friday's Tipu Jayanti celebrations. Prohibitory orders have been clamped on five districts and, if required, it could be extended to other districts, including Bengaluru, police said.

Additional director general of police (law and order) Kamal Pant said about 1,000 mischief-mongers have been taken into preventive custody in different parts of the state. “While some of them have been let off with a warning, many will be released on Friday evening. Public celebrations other than govern ment programmes have been restricted. Protests and rallies have been strictly prohibited,“ the police officer said. Mandya police have clamped prohibitory orders on Srirangapatna, once Tipu's seat of power, besides increasing security cover in the town, which hosts his tomb, palaces and other monuments.

2. Cab Fares Likely to Go up Soon

Ola is Uber’s fiercest rival in the Indian cab-hailing service market. (Photo Courtesy: Reuters/Twitter/@OlaCabs)

Cab fares are likely to go up soon as the government is in the final stages of notifying the regional transport authority's report which has, for the first time, recommended minimum fares, along with maximum fares.

Transport minister H M Revanna told DH on Thursday that he will clear the file on fare structure within the next few days. "I had sought some changes in the report sent by the transport commissioner. Now, we are in the final stages of discussion before clearing it," he said.

While drivers attached to Ola and Uber protested against falling earnings, those running conventional taxis alleged unfair competition by app-based cabs and urged officials to fix minimum fare. The department had fixed Rs 19.50 per kilometre for sedans and Rs 14.50/km for hatchbacks in 2013 as maximum fare.

3. Student Facing Rape at Knife-Point Speed Dials Friend

A 4-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and murdered in Keshavpuram in North-West Delhi. (Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A 19-year-old engineering student was sexually assaulted by a cab driver while she was alone in her house at Soladevanahalli early on Monday.

The teen, a third semester student in a private college, lives with with her sister. She was roused from her sleep around 2 am on Monday by insistent knocking on the door. That night, she was alone at home as her sister was out of town for a job interview.

When she opened the door, a man — whom the police later identified as Sharath — barged inside. He overpowered and gagged her.

In her statement to the police, she said that the intruder pulled out a knife and threatened to kill her if she shouted for help. “He then proposed to her at knife-point,” said a police officer.

4. Youth Attacks Inspector with Machete, Shot at; 5 Arrested

Representational image of a crime scene. (Photo: iStock)

A youth, who attacked a police inspector with a machete when the latter went to arrest him for vandalising vehicles and attacking a rival, was shot at and injured in the leg in the wee hours of Thursday in south Bengaluru.

Five accomplices of the injured youth, Vishnu alias Boja, a resident of Nagasandra, south Benglauru, were arrested later. All the youths – Vishnu, Pramod, Siddaraju, Sushant, Mubaraq and Darshan – were between 19 years and 23 years.

Vishnu and his associates allegedly went around Yediyur on three bikes on Wednesday night. They reached AK Colony around 10pm and vandalised 10 vehicles, including cars, and then to Yediyur Lake where they damaged six vehicles. The gang threatened locals who questioned them and attacked their rival, Praveen, at Nagasandra when he was talking to his friend. The gang sped away and dispersed later.

5. Flag Panel to Meet Again After Belagavi Session

Karnataka is trying to be the second state in the country to have an official state flag, after Jammu and Kashmir.(Photo Courtesy: The Quint)

Members of the state government-appointed panel, tasked with looking into the provisions of creating an official flag for Karnataka, met for the first time on Thursday and held preliminary discussions.

The nine-member committee was set up by the government in June and sources said all members were present at Thursday's meeting. A member said the committee decided to meet again after the Belagavi assembly session. “The members felt it'd be proper to wait for the assembly session to get over before making recommendations to the government. So, we decided to meet again after the session,“ said the member.

While the government is apparently favouring the idea of the state having its own flag, with chief minister Siddaramaiah positioning himself as crusader of the pro-Kannada cause, it was expected that there would be a broad consensus among panel members over the proposal.

6. More Flights This Winter From Kempegowda International Airport

Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru. (Photo: The Quint)

The winter schedule 2017-18 for the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) has commenced. During the winter 2017-18, the daily Air Traffic Movement (ATM) is expected to be 614 at the start of the schedule, and will progress to reach 660 ATM per day which is a projected growth of 19 per cent in overall ATMs.

New airlines that will begin operations from KIA are Malindo Air that will connect travellers to Kuala Lumpur twice each week and DHL Aviation (cargo) that will operate to Bahrain once a week from the airport. New routes include daily connectivity by Jet Airways to Amsterdam, operations to Silchar via Kolkata and a flight to Udaipur via Delhi, starting October 29. Indigo will start two daily flights to Tirupati starting December (20.